The historic New Regal Theater on the South Side would be reborn this fall as the Avalon Regal Theater, one of the country's first dedicated hologram theaters, under a partnership announced Friday.

The 89-year-old landmark auditorium on 79th Street by the Chicago Skyway is one of 100 theaters to be outfitted with Hologram USA Networks' patented technology, which would "beam" artists performing elsewhere into the venues and revive deceased entertainers — or at least their digital likenesses — for the masses. Recall rapper Tupac Shakur's holographic performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2012, more than 15 years after his death.

Work has already started on the Avalon Regal Theater with a grand opening show featuring living and dead performers set for Oct. 1.

"The best way to describe this is like a hologram biopic of both living and deceased stars and the reason we picked the Regal is because, for example, one of the shows we have ready to go is the Billie Holiday show," Hologram USA Networks founder and CEO Alki David said. "A lot of these artists that we're resurrecting or doing shows of have been somewhat connected to the Regal."

This may be the most extensive facelift yet for the theater, which hosted live shows and served as a movie house under the Avalon name from 1927-70. The venue reopened in 1987 with a new name — the New Regal Theater — in honor of the legendary Regal Theater in the Bronzeville area that was demolished in 1973.

The Avalon Theater is shown when it opened in August 1927.

The Avalon Theater is shown when it opened in August 1927.

The New Regal closed in 2003 and changed hands again before Jerald Gary's group, Community Capital Investment, bought it in 2014 for $100,000. He said the last major production at the theater was a party in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected president.

Gary said when he purchased the building, he envisioned the theater renovation and creation of a surrounding entertainment district would be a 20- to 25-year project. He said he has poured more than $1 million into the theater and created, then canceled, a few online campaigns for money to install hologram technology.

John P. Owens / Chicago Tribune

New Regal Theater owner Jerald Gary stands in the lobby of the building on May 4, 2015.

New Regal Theater owner Jerald Gary stands in the lobby of the building on May 4, 2015.

(John P. Owens / Chicago Tribune)

"I frankly didn't believe that we would raise any money, let alone six figures we were seeking to raise, so it was primarily to get holograms into the public consciousness and start the conversation about this new technology that's going in this beautiful theater in a community that a lot of people have written off," said Gary, who grew up not far from the theater.

The idea of hologram concerts has been floated before in Chicago. Two years ago, David tried to organize a hologram benefit concert in the city featuring Chief Keef, who is signed to David's FilmOn label.

The Chicago rapper wouldn't appear in person here because of outstanding warrants, and city officials didn't welcome his virtual appearance. He was briefly beamed onto a stage at an Indiana festival before authorities there shut that show down.

"What we did at the festival was a temporary setup through a trailer with a live stream from L.A. The shows that we will be putting on at the Regal will be much, much more elaborate," David said.

The wealthy businessman said it costs $350,000 to $400,000 per theater to install the projectors, frames and transparent screens to create the entertainers' images. A Los Angeles venue is set to begin showcasing this technology in September as the premier theater in the Hologram USA network.

Meanwhile, Gary is still working on his building's plumbing and HVAC. He said he hasn't applied for a city license yet to host events, but has found city representatives and neighborhood residents to be supportive.

"With Hologram USA's technology, we'll not just be able to recreate performances of the past, but also recreate moments in history, which is really interesting because there's a huge educational component to this as well. Not just with respect to the performing arts, but being able to show a group of kids Dr. King's 'I Have a Dream' speech in real-time holography is going to be incredible and way more impactful than educational media available to students today," Gary said.